The association between Helicobacter pylori infection and pancreatic diseases: a Mendelian Randomization study

Abstract

Abstract Object: The relationship between Helicobacter pylori and pancreatic diseases remains a subject of controversy. Our study aims to investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and pancreatic cancer as well as pancreatitis. Methods In this study, we employed the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method to assess the causal relationship between anti-Helicobacter pylori antibody levels and the occurrence of pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis. The primary analytical approach was determined to be the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) analysis under a fixed-effects model. To ensure the reliability of our study findings, we conducted multiple sensitivity analyses. Results Our research reveals a significant correlation between elevated levels of anti-Helicobacter pylori outer membrane protein (OMP) and a reduced risk of alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis (ACP) (OR, 0.654; 95% CI, 0.508–0.841; p < 0.05). Multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis indicates that C-reactive protein (CRP), as opposed to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), peptic ulcers, gastric ulcers, and duodenal ulcers, mediates the causal relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (ACP). Furthermore, our study findings exhibit no evidence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy. Conclusion The two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis reveals a causal relationship between anti-Helicobacter pylori OMP levels and ACP. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate and validate these findings.